A Collection of Songfics
by Zaila
Summary: Just as the title says, this is a collection of songfics to try and flesh out the full stories behind songs that have lyrics that don't really do them justice. songs with love, with hate, with every emotion you can think of. All-human.
1. Intro

Alright everyone.

I was listening to the radio a while ago and I realized how many songs there are that have a marvelous story to them,

a story not being fully fleshed out by the scattered covering of lyrics.

I'm going to try, in this compilation of songfics, to bring more of songs' stories to life.

Always~

Zaila

P.S. I don't own the rights to any of the songs I use in this compilation, nor do I own any of the characters I use. This is my interpretation of what every song says to me.


	2. Need You Now, Lady Antebellum

APOV

I lay on the cold hardwood floor of my apartment's living room, surrounded by glossy images of what I once had; images of what I wish had never ended. I can feel the ghosts of the embrace in the picture in my hand; his warm arms slung lovingly around my waist from behind and his cheek resting on top of my head, making me feel so safe and secure. Salty tears burn their way down cheeks raw from constant crying as my hand tightens into a fist on the floor next to me. I breathe a shaky breath and find myself reaching for the cell phone I threw against the couch not twenty four hours before, my thumb pressing the number two, speed dialing his number. I listen to it ring, half hoping he won't pick up but at the same time feeling my heart drop with every ring that he doesn't answer.

"_Hey, sorry I'm not at the phone. You know what to do!"_ his voice goes straight to my heart, tinny and static-y as it is, a sharp spear of betrayal and longing. I doubt he ever even thinks of me, he's probably off somewhere with his little miss perfect…I choke out a sob. He'd promised! That night, he swore to me he hadn't done anything, and I'd believed the drunken bastard. Another sob wrenches its way from my body, and the floodgates open. As I wrap my arms around myself in a futile attempt to keep my splinters of heart from ripping away at my chest, the phone rings…

JPOV

"Pour me another, man…" the bartender gives me a pity-filled look but obliges, setting a shot glass full of good old Irish whiskey next to what remains of my fifth shot. The amber liquid burns as it goes down, an unpleasantly familiar feeling. I catch sight of my sorry ass in the mirror behind the bar in between glimpses at the door and am revolted by the trail of dark hickeys running their way from my jawbone to the center of my chest. I catch a glimpse of familiar copper curls out of the corner of my eye and my heart races. It's her! Oh, lord, she'd be disappointed in me right now. My heart thumps and plummets as I turn to notice the redhead I saw was just another girl, not my carrot-top spitfire. More than tipsy, drowning my sorrows in the same poison that killed her parents…I never could drink when we were together, and maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. The one time I'd gone past the pleasant slight fuzziness of being tipsy, pushed it to the limit if what I could function on, I'd stumbled and slurred my way into a woman's arms—but not MY woman's…

I sigh and decide to torture myself a little, the most bittersweet torture there is. Memory after memory of her, of _us_, flashes through my mind behind my eyelids. One of them returns again and again to my mind's eye – holding her around her tiny waist, my cheek buried in her hair. I curse myself with every name under the sun for being a big enough jackass to hurt the girl I loved with something as stupid as what I did. Dropping the money for my drinks on the bar, I grab my jacket and stride heavily into the cool night. I pop open the door to my car and manage to slide into the cool seat before hell breaks loose. My fist connects loudly with my thigh, tears stinging at the backs of my eyes like they did in middle school. I scream loudly and yank on my hair, trying to do something,_ anything_, to get rid of the pressure on my wounded heart. With every traitorous memory the pressure grows, smothering my heart and forcing barking sobs from my chest. I scream again and bend over as much as possible, accidentally-on-purpose slamming my head into the steering wheel. My phone beeps shrilly and I automatically grab the stupid device from my back pocket, flipping it open to display the name of the person who would call me at one in the morning.

My heart skips a beat as I read the name thrice through, not daring to believe what my eyes tell me. _She called!_ I mentally hit myself for not hearing it ring, for not picking up the phone. My head finds its way onto my forearm, cushioned on the steering wheel of my rustbucket car. I breathe a shaky breath and flip my phone back open, pressing speed dial two and the send button…

APOV

The familiar ringtone breaks the almost-silence of my apartment, the little phone in my hand buzzing and singing merrily about love and summer. I brace myself for the wave of pain that I know his voice will bring and slide it open.

"hello?" my voice is nasally and choked up from sobbing.

"I miss you." He sounds no better than me, and my heart drops at the thought of him in pain even after everything he put me through. "I know I told you I wouldn't call but…I needed to hear your voice."

He sniffs at the end of his sentence and I realize he's still crying, just like me. "I miss you too, but that doesn't change anything about what you did."

"I know." His voice is almost a whisper, laced with pain and regret. "I curse myself every second of every godforsaken day for being stupid enough to do that. I know there's no way you can ever forgive me but…"

"I need to see you, where are you?" there's no way for me to figure this out over the phone. I need to be near him, to be in his arms, for my heart to stop hurting enough for me to think straight. He is awkwardly silent for a few seconds, and I'm afraid he doesn't want to see me.

"I'm in the parking lot of Louie's bar…" that's why…he knows I don't like alcohol.

"I'm on my way, don't move." I close my phone and pull my sob-weary body into a standing position, grabbing my car keys off the hook and making my way into my cute little VW beetle. The engine grumbles to life and I pull out of the complex's lot, hurtling down the dark streets to a place I never wanted to be, a situation I never wanted to face. The dim lights of the bar's parking lot turn the inside of my car a sickly orange, and my heart aches as I catch sight of his familiar rusted pickup. I pull into the space next to him and tap gently on his window, the cool breeze of the night turning my wet cheeks icy.

"Jazz, it's me. Open up." I tap a little more solidly, and he finally stirs to open my door, the passenger side door. I sit myself in the seat, the nostalgic scent of leather and cigarettes assaulting my nose and heart. I turn my body to look at the man I love, no matter how misplaced that love may be. I can't live without him, can't breathe, but I don't know how long it will be until I can trust him again. I have to try though, without him I'm nothing…

JPOV

A gentle rapping on my passenger window makes my heart stop. Shit, I'm not ready for this…for her to come in here and tell me how much she hates me, to see the pain on her beautiful little face. I can't do it, but I have too. There's no going back, I'm the one who called.

"Jazz, it's me." She raps harder, "Open up."

I let her in and go back to burying my face in my arms. My heart stretches toward her, aching to hold her in my arms and soothe away the pain she feels. My chest feels tight from holding back tears. It's silent in the cab of the truck for the longest time, the truck she and I had shared so many good memories in over our year and a half of love. I take a deep breath and look up into her heartbroken face. The broken goddess, beautiful in her sadness.

"Ali, I'm sorry." My voice betrays me, choking up on her name. I swallow and force myself to continue. "I'm such an ass, I understand if you hate me. I won't bl— "

She puts a slender finger to my lips. "Shush. Of course I'm angry, of course I'm hurt, and of course I don't trust you right now." My shattered heart breaks into smaller pieces and tears slip down my cheek. She places a hand against my face and I lean into it, treasuring what might be the last time I feel her soft, smooth skin. "But Jasper, you're my life. I can't live without you, no matter how I try. I need you, and if we try we can patch this up." Tears leak out of her swollen eyes, and I reach up to wipe them away.

"As long as you're willing to try, I'm here. As long as you can care about me, I'm here." I reach in and kiss her softly on her lips.


End file.
